McNairy County man sentenced to life on meth charges

US Attorney General for the Western District of Tennessee Mike Dunavant gave the keynote address during a local ceremony for National Peace Officers Memorial Day, Tuesday, May 15.(Photo: KENNETH CUMMINGS/The Jackson Sun)Buy Photo

A McNairy County man has been sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking following a 2017 arrest and an August conviction.

Michael Jay Harris, 47, was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday by U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen, according to a Justice Department press release.

Following an August 2018 trial, Harris was convicted by a jury for possession of 98 grams of actual methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Harris had four previous drug trafficking convictions in the State of Tennessee, and faced a mandatory life sentence as a career drug offender.

According to the Justice Department press release, evidence presented at trial showed that on Feb. 13, 2017, agents with the McNairy County Narcotics Unit, including officers with the Selmer Police Department and McNairy County Sheriff’s Department, went to a residence in Finger to arrest Harris on an outstanding warrant. Law enforcement found Harris in possession of a bag containing three and a half ounces of ice methamphetamine and marijuana, as well as digital scales and drug paraphernalia.

A chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration found the methamphetamine was more than 97 percent pure, and an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified it could have been distributed to more than a thousand drug users, based on its purity.

“Methamphetamine that is trafficked in and through West Tennessee continues to increase in purity, which increases its potential to cause addiction, injury, and death. Harris is a career drug offender who has devoted his life to criminal activity that endangered the citizens of West Tennessee, and this life sentence is well-earned and justified to protect the public. I commend the outstanding investigative work of local law enforcement, and thank AUSA Matt Wilson for his effective prosecution of this important case,” D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in the release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Wilson prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.